3D printing as a fabrication method allows for the easy construction of prototypes and organic forms that cannot be replicated using traditional manufacturing methods. The technology has been getting a lot of attention recently (even more than usual) thanks to wide media coverage of individuals and companies adopting printing to quickly adapt their production to supply Personal Protective and Medical equipment while there has been a worldwide shortage due to COVID-19.
Read MoreEver wondered what the value of packaging is to your business?
Have you undervalued packaging in the hope that the product would do the selling for you? If so, maybe it's time to change. We did some digging to uncover some tangible evidence that good, considered packaging helps increase sales and boost business growth and profitability.
Read MoreFood waste and single use packaging is abundant in the current market and as a result we are faced with the growing issue of landfill. This raises the key question of: ‘What alternatives do we have?’. In an effort to tackle the problem, four designers from the Royal College of Art have explored a technique using discarded crustacean shells as a key ingredient in creating a biodegradable alternative to traditional plastic packaging.
Sources: https://physicsworld.com/a/composite-chitin-film-could-replace-plastic-packaging/, https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/105848/factsheet/en, https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/792d/72c4792d9a93fcfffb8d9984f7277f666da0.pdf
Read MoreLast week, the winners for the Australasian Packaging Design Awards were announced. In the Packaging Innovation & Design of the year award - Beverage Category the silver winner was our very own Stay Tray.
Read MoreHere at Hone Product Design we spend a lot of time with our clients working on new product development. One consideration when launching a new product, is the packaging design. As with the product design itself, the packaging needs to be well considered. This includes not only the look and feel of the packaging, which has so much influence on the customer experience, but also the life of the package once it has done its job.
Read MoreWe are in a brave new world of transport revolution, the development of autonomous vehicles and flying cars as per Boeing’s latest release is only the beginning. A point to point transport system combining the convenience of trains and faster than a jet is also being developed called a hyperloop.
Read MoreIn Brooklyn, there’s a studio called Trofe, where change is brewing or should we say change is growing. Danielle, the founder and namesake of Trofe has been working on a range of lights grown from fungus.
Read MoreAt the start of a July Australia’s two dominating supermarkets began to phase out single use plastic bags, Coles then backtracked on this pledge showing just how popular single use plastics still are with the Australian public. The debate on the future of single use plastics being pushed further into the spotlight by Coles could be at least some silver lining from their regression.
However, it is now proving that it is here to stay but not in the way that most thought. 3D printers will not be in majority of homes anytime soon as many were excited that they would, but rather, a greater number of products both for mainstream and industrial consumers are now being produced through 3D printing. Additive Manufacturing and Product Design for Additive Manufacture have a had a rapid development towards producing 3D printed products for end-use. Thanks to established technologies such as Selective Laser Sintering and the rapidly improving ones like Multi Jet Fusion, the barrier to market of high production setup costs is being lowered significantly. Both established business and startups can have products manufactured in small batches and even on demand in a quality that is either ready, or requires minimal finishing to be ready for market.
Plastics are produced almost entirely from fossil fuels and only 14% of plastic packaging materials are recycled. At least 8 million tonnes of plastic waste finds its way into the ocean each year. It is currently estimated that 150 million tonnes of plastic are in the ocean today and if drastic changes are not adopted in industrial and packaging design this will exceed 300 million tonnes by 2050. This amount will actually be greater than fish in the ocean by weight.
Read MoreThe Packaging & Processing Innovation and Design Awards (PIDA) 2018 is here, it will be taking place on 2nd May in Queensland. The event is organised by the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP), the Australian Packaging & Processing Machinery Association (APPMA), and the Packaging Council of New Zealand. The awards recognise innovative packaging design and materials processing in Australia and New Zealand.
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